The Winter Rose
by FantasyEater
Summary: When Robin is at the edge of despair he might be reminded that somethings are worth remembering.


He could feel his heart still beating erratically, it seemed to hurt more with each passing beat. Breathing slowly he attempted to calm himself by taking everything in, the sounds of the water washing the shore, the cold ocean air blowing on him, the feeling of sand under his feet. Except that wasn't what he saw, instead the ground was covered in blood, the sky like ash as everything burned. Looking up he saw it, Grima, he could feel his hand shaking not from cold but from fear of what he believed to be true. Unable to the control his breath anymore he fell to the sand in a cold-sweat as the mark in his palm began to release and unbearable pain that coursed through his veins. He was losing himself to something he couldn't even understand and there was only one way out, death.

"Robin!"

Gasping Robin opened his eyes to see Cherche standing over him with a worried look on her face. His relationship with the wyvern rider was complex, in the days spent with the woman he knew her every action and reaction. The ability to analyze people's behavior was simple for him, in fact it was his greatest asset as a tactician. Except he no longer recognized her, had he changed so much that he had forgotten the memories he spent with her.

Pulling a strand of her pink hair behind her ear she helped him sit up, " Are you ok? You were screaming violently and then you just stopped moving. I thought you had…" She came to a sudden stop in her speech as her eyes fell.

"I'm fine." An ill told lie, but he couldn't very well tell her what he really felt.

Looking out towards the sea he watched the water reflect the moonlight, sitting down next to him Cherche stared at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

"I'm sorry to have alarmed you but I'm alright now."

"Robin why are you out here?"

Ignoring the question he slowly began to write in the sand. Sitting in silence Cherche looked towards the ocean as a faint smile appeared across her lips, "There is a celebration in Rosanne know as Departing of the Flowers that occurs every winter. There are these beautiful roses that only bloom in the cold winters of Rosanne you see, and every year on that day a man gives one of those roses to his beloved. If she accepts the rose it is then placed upon the ocean where they drift beautifully towards another shore along with hundreds of white roses. The country itself was named after such flowers."

Looking at Cherche he could see a faint blush in her face, "Perhaps its just a romantic notion."

Putting his hands on hers she looked into his eyes, "Maybe… but sometimes we need to be reminded about such notions. Some of us tend to forget."

With a look of awe and confusion she marveled at the tactician. All the time spent with the man she still could not figure him out, she didn't comprehend how on one day he behaved like a blundering idiot, on another like an undaunted soldier, a kind soul, and on those dark days like a ruthless man. Although even with all those numerous encounters this one seemed different, like a side of him she had never seen before, a side he hid from others.

Slowly Robin took all the courage in he could, "Cherche can I trust you?"

Surprised she shifted uncomfortably, "I… I don't know."

Once again both sat in silent watching the light dance against the water. Robin was the first to break the silence,

"Perhaps you should not be here with me."

She frowned at Robin, for a reason she did not comprehend she had fallen for the complex man long ago.

"Do you not want me here?"

"Quite the opposite. I fear of what would happen to me if you left."

Feeling butterflys in her stomach Cherche reached out and grabbed Robins hand, "Why won't you tell me what happened? Is it because you can't trust me?"

She could feel his grip tighten, "It's because I can't trust myself anymore. In this world there is only one thing that is certain, death. I trust only death I suppose"

"Love. Yes love is a certainty in this world"

Laughing Robin let go of Cherche's hand, "Love is nothing more than an allusion that should be forgotten. There is nothing in this world but ruin and suffering."

A sadness filled Cherche as she his words speak the brokeness in his heart, "Once the old Robin would have never spoken like that."

Looking away from her his voice dropped to nearly a whisper, "He has faded into nothingness."

"I don't believe that."

Still not looking at her she slowly wrapped her arms around him, her heart quickened as she performed the action. "For if that were true then that would mean I would no longer love you."

She could feel Robin tighten at her words but she did not let go as she waited for what he would do next, "You couldn't love me. I don't even remember who you really are… I don't remember who I am… I have forgotten."

Losing her grip Robin slowly turned around with sadness in his eyes, "I am no longer the same man that was with you in those difficult days you remember."

Nearly in tears now Cherche looked into Robin eyes, once filled with life they now looked to be dying. With even less confidence than before she repeated the words, " Yes but I still do! The good and the bad, the day you let me cry into your shoulders as my land bleed, when you laughed with me at the end of the war, when we sat under the stars and you held me close. I remember it all still and so it happens to be, I love you."

"I'm sorry… forget about what you feel for me."

She could feel the hot tears falling from her face as Robin said those words, "Please don't say that! I don't want to forget this feeling."

Robin cried out almost in despair, "There is no certainty in love!"

"There is certainty in that I am in love with you! Is that not enough."

"Loving me will only end in sadness..."

Not longer able to bear it Cherche quickly stood up and ran off leaving Robin alone on the shore of the beach. Letting out a long breath he could feel the cold air of the night, the winter of Ylisse nearly ready to begin. Narrowing his eyes he could see something upon the shore, walking towards it he picked up a floating white rose that reflected the light of the moon, the Winter Rosanne Rose.

"You idiot!" Dropping the rose he began to run towards Cherche.

Hearing a loud voice she turned to look at Robin running towards her, coming to a stop she felt his warmth as he pulled her in placing his lips on hers. Slowly falling into the kiss the world seemed to shift before her. Slowly letting go she looked at Robin as he wiped her remaining tears away, "What was that for? I thought-"

Pulling her in for another kiss he held her even tighter than before, this time the kiss more tender than the last.

"I had to remember something I had forgotten, a notion that some tend to forget."

This time she quickly pulled him in to another kiss that had grown more passionate than the ones from before, "What is that notion exactly?"

"That I love you Cherche."

* * *

><p><strong>So this takes place a bit after Walhart has been defeated and Robin has learned of his true nature. This originally was supposed to be a very light in mood but inspiration hit and I like how it ended. I wanted to show Robin at his breaking point, this moment is the tipping point between choosing Grima like he did in the future or remaining who he is.<strong>


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